Ice Mirror
by Words in Color
Summary: Arendelle's peace has been threatened, and the only way to save the kingdom goes by the dreaded name of Hans. Aware of this fact, Elsa is forced to put all her hard feelings behind and embark on an adventure with the very same man that tried to ruin her.
1. Chapter 1

Arendelle was as lovely and picturesque as ever. The greens that surrounded the city and the crystalline, serene lakes brightly coloured the horizon, which was lined with tall, snowy mountains that seemed to touch the lively skies above. Darkness, however, loomed over the kingdom —a war threat of a king from a faraway yet powerful land. And the only way to stop it was defiantly gazing into Elsa's equally fierce eyes.

"I refuse to work with this exiled piece of filth," the platinum blonde twenty-two-year-old stated. Handing one last regally dismissing glance at Hans, she adjusted the gold crown that rested atop of her head and elegantly made her way out of the throne room.

Anna and Kristoff were left dumbfounded, each standing next to a chained up, fuming Hans.

"Perhaps we should've removed the chains around him and made him look nicer," Anna whispered, her wide, blue eyes grimacing at Hans's state. His auburn hair was falling onto his forehead in a disheveled manner. His eyebrows were furrowed together, adding anger to the blankly cold expression that had rested on his face ever since he'd been locked up. To top it all off, Kristoff thought it'd be funny to shave any sign of a beard and moustache other than Hans's signature sideburns, so it seemed as if someone had glued a patch of red sheep on the sides of his face.

Hans looked like anything but Arendelle's only chance at stopping a war.

"Oh, please, he'd look like a criminal even with a halo glowing around his head," Kristoff murmured his reply, handing the royal prisoner a disgusted side-glance.

"I can hear you, you know," Hans grumbled, trying to loosen the chains that tied his arms to his torso.

"You deserve worse than getting your heart broken after overhearing someone badmouthing you," Kristoff cooed, pulling at Hans's chains. "Let's get you back to your tower, Rapunzel. Your Prince in Shining Armour decided not to free you this time-"

"Wait, don't take him back! Not yet!" Anna pleaded, pulling Hans towards her. She unknowingly swung Hans around in a violent manner, forcing him to face Kristoff before pointing a desperate finger at the prisoned prince. "He's the only way we can avoid that war. Stay here and watch over him while I go talk to Elsa."

"Anna, your Queen said no," Kristoff reminded his fiancée in a soft yet warning tone.

"Well, she also said no when we asked to be married in two years and you still insisted until she approved," Anna pointed out, a triumphant smirk drawn on her pink lips.

"Oh, I see you don't learn from your mistakes... you're now marrying a stranger you picked up in the forest," Hans snickered, joining the conversation. "At least I was a royal guest."

"Please let me lock him up," Kristoff begged Anna, regaining his hold of the prisoner.

"As much as I wish I could, we need him," Anna admitted, her lips pressed together in a tight line as she glared at Hans, who only returned the gesture with a nonchalant, crooked smile. _He is right, you're marrying a stranger you picked up in the forest, _a voice in her mind told her. _Who helped you save your sister! _another countered. Trying to ignore the debate in her mind, Anna shook her head in a dismissive manner. "I'll just go and talk to Elsa."

As Anna made her way through the marble floors, the tall ceilings, the towering columns, and the impressive, giant paintings hanging from the tapered walls, she couldn't help but fuel her mental debate with thoughts about Hans. She was completely over him, but the fact that she'd allowed her kingdom to be threatened all because of her foolishness still weighed heavy on her shoulders. She knew Kristoff was a good person, but she could've also sworn that she knew Hans was a saint. _Perhaps I should wait more than two years to get married..._ Anna wondered, slowing her pace once she reached Elsa's huge, gold-detailed double doors. _What if Kristoff is also planning to steal our power away? The thought of being the king of a rich, peaceful kingdom may give him patience to wait for more-_

"Just stop thinking that and knock this door, Anna. There are bigger problems at stake than your insecurities," Anna told herself, rolling her eyes at her own nature. She hesitated as soon as she picked her lean arm to knock. There was a time when she did so and nobody answered. "But those times are long gone," Anna gladly reminded herself, before letting her small fist knock the door. "Elsa?"

Without any delay, the doors were pulled open and a repentant-looking queen appeared in front of Anna. "I'm sorry for my behav-"

"Look," Anna cut in, inviting herself into Elsa's chilly room. She shivered and rubbed her upper arms, giving her older sister a weirded out look. "I know you're not bothered by the cold, I've heard you singing that too many times in the bath-"

"You've heard that?" Elsa blurted out, her light green eyes wide with shame and shock.

"-but don't you care for the fact that people like me can come in and freeze to death? I pity your maids," Anna continued, turning to face Elsa. "Anyways. I know it's hard to face Hans, but you need to give him a chance-"

Elsa sighed, abashedly tucking a strand of her loose hair behind her ear. "About that-"

"-this is Arendelle that we're talking about. If saving our _home_ from war means having to work alongside a criminal who shattered my heart into pieces and regarded me as a fool, plus locked you up in the dungeons while trying to steal away our kingdom," Anna said, her face distorting with shame and anger as she said those words. Sighing, she managed to control her feelings and to finish her idea. "Then we need to put our personal feelings aside-"

"Anna, let me talk-"

"-and agree to work with him," Anna blabbered on, not even aware of the fact that Elsa was trying to tell her something. She grabbed Elsa's hands and grimaced. "Geez, your hands are really cold... but anyways... you need to forget about what Hans did to you... to _us, _to Arendelle just for now so we can save ourselves from war. Think of the people-"

"Anna, I know," Elsa quickly responded, trying to get herself heard.

"You do?" the nineteen-year-old wondered, blinking.

"I tried to tell you from the moment that you barged into my room-"

"Sorry about that," Anna quickly apologised, biting her lower lip and slightly bowing her head down.

"No worries," Elsa replied, letting out a barely audible chuckle at her sister's antics. She grabbed her royal blue cape from her hanger and clipped it around her neck, preparing herself to leave the room. "My actions in the throne room were quite impulsive and not something that should be coming from a queen. I have reflected and I admit that if Hans is the only way to maintain peace... then he's the only way."

"That's great!" Anna exclaimed, feeling her shoulders relax at those words. "I thought I'd have to convince you..."

"Of course, as the Queen of Arendelle, we'll work under my conditions," Elsa added, arching her eyebrows in an expectant manner.

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Anna confessed, grinning at her sister.

Elsa smiled back. "Then there won't be any problem if I ask you to shave his sideburns, because I don't think I can focus on the problem with those brittle curls staring back at me."

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><p><strong>A note from the author:<strong> So, hello reader. I'm here to thank you for giving this story a chance and to also leave here a small disclaimer: this is based on the Snow Queen story. I know Frozen is too, but this story will follow the events of the original fairytale a bit more closely.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and that it was enough to make you want to read the next. Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

When Elsa had finally revealed her powers to Arendelle, it'd felt liberating and right; after years of confinement, she was finally free. But what about her kingdom? What had they felt? Two years had passed since Else had become the youngest queen in the kingdom. And as if that wasn't as stressful as it was, she was also the only queen in the entire world to have hidden herself for a lifetime and to have frozen her entire kingdom before escaping to the mountains.

She had a lot to account for, and though nobody openly voiced their worries about Elsa, the queen could not help but wonder if perhaps the people of Arendelle felt uncertain of their destinies due to her reign. She knew the royal court worried over having such a young, _unmarried_ queen on the throne, and she couldn't help but sometimes think that the entire kingdom felt the same way. Which was why she could not fail with this mission no matter what.

"Alright, Prince Hans, you have a lot of explaining to do," Elsa said, coldly gazing at the prisoner from her throne. Looking at him fully shaved, dressed in a royal fashion, hair smoothly brushed back, and crooked smile fully covering his face, she couldn't help but feel as if she'd traveled back in time, to when Anna was presenting him as her 'future husband'. It brought her back bad memories that she was more than ready to get rid of. _How am I going to stand working with him if I can't even look at him for more than two seconds?_

"I will have a lot of explaining to do until you tell me what's on the table for me," Hans replied, his chin held high, before adding in a chuckling manner, "dear queen."

_I can't even stand his pedantic voice, _Elsa pointed out, her nose scrunched up in disgust at his sight. "First of all, Prince Hans, you are to address me, _the queen_, with all due respect. So next time you talk around me with that condescending tone of yours, I will take measures in my own hands."

Hans only raised an eyebrow, his amused smile growing by the second.

"I do mean it. In fact, if you keep up this rebellious teen act, I will move you back to your old cell, where your old friend is eagerly awaiting for company to blabber on and on about his crazy theory about the real me being abducted by aliens," Elsa threatened. Upon noticing a slight hint of fear flashing from the prince's eyes, she continued to taunt him. "Yes, your old partner-in-crime and cell neighbour, the Duke of Weselton, the one who became crazy after being imprisoned and was about to make your ears explode with his crazy talk until you begged us to move you to another cell away from him."

Hans did not apologise, but he was now standing up straighter, and the smirk had been wiped off his face entirely.

Elsa's eyes shifted from Hans to the royal court officer standing by the door, inspecting the queen's every move. The royal court had been 'secretly' supervising her like crazy for the past months, moving her to think that perhaps they were either planning an arranged marriage, a coup d' etat, or some sort of ultimatum. It scared her, and the only way to stop those worries from taking completely over Elsa was to prove herself and those around her that she could be a firm, strong, and direct queen. And from the raised eyebrows and ghost of a smile on the head of the royal court's face, she achieved her goal that second.

"And as to wanting to strike a deal, I'm afraid I'll have to pass for now. I have a kingdom to save as quickly as possible, so your deal will be the last thing we'll discuss," Elsa finished, feeling proud of her little sentimentality. Perhaps that'd been the hardest part of being queen —having to put her feelings behind justice and clemency.

"With all due respect, my Queen-"

"_Your Majesty_," Elsa cut in, not comfortable with Hans claiming her as 'his' after his little stunt two years ago. She knew it was just a common honorific, but she was still not willing to put up with it. Plus, judging by the growing smile on the royal court officer's face, she was doing an excellent job with her attitude.

Hans sighed, pursing his lips in little agreement before continuing. "Your Majesty, your sister, Princess Anna, promised me that a deal would be decided on right away."

Elsa inhaled a deep wave of air before daring to look at the royal court officer. His smile had now disappeared, and it was instead replaced by an expectant frown. Above being young, unmarried, and able to freeze an entire kingdom, the royal court was mostly bothered by Elsa's willingness to listen to other point of views. Most specifically, Anna and Kristoff's point of views. She always took their advise seriously, and that never sat well with the royal court, who was supposed to do just that yet always ignored in favour of her younger sister and Kristoff. Even Olaf had more stance on decisions than the royal court.

"Princess Anna is not the queen," Elsa drawled out, clutching the armrests of her throne. "So you'll respond to what I say. Are we clear?"

The royal court officer courtly nodded before making his way out of the room. _He's satisfied... right? _Elsa wondered.

"I understand, your Majesty," Hans replied, his facial expression hardening. "And if I may say, what most relieved me of not having to marry Princess Anna was the fact that I wouldn't have to share some sort of relationship with you... your Majesty."

"Actually, that's exactly what brought relief to me too. I'm glad we're on the same page, now please, begin talking," Elsa countered back, motioning at a guard. "Could we please get a chair here for Prince Hans? I would thank you if you'd begin speaking right away, by the way. Like I said, we can't waste time."

"A chair for a prisoner, your Majesty? You must be glad that the royal court officer was not here to see this. And don't worry, I won't say a thing," Hans quipped, before sitting on the chair brought upon by the guard.

"May I still remind you, Prince Hans, that the Duke of Westleton is still waiting for a friend... and now that I think of it, perhaps it'd be more convenient for you two to share a cell rather than to be simple neighbours," Elsa wondered, her green eyes challenging Hans to reply with an even more defiant tone.

He didn't, of course. "Alright, then, your Majesty. I'll begin speaking now." He paused. "Some time ago —perhaps a decade and a half ago —there was a group of trolls that went by the dumbest name of 'The Knights'. They tried to rebel against the rest of the trolls by stealing away their potions, books, and flasks —flasks containing imprisoned, evil spirits —so they could conquer over the human race and the rest of the trolls. They failed with their rebellion, since they were the minority, but not before being able to steal one of the mentioned flasks. They happened to choose the one containing the most ruthless devil ever trapped by a troll: the Snow Queen, nicknamed like that not because she is in possession of your amazing, wondrous, charming, oh-so-impressive-"

"Enough," Elsa sternly cut in, her eyes narrowed at Hans.

The prince's lips curled up in response. "She is not in possession of your powers, your Majesty, she's just called like that because she lives in the snow. Anyways, the Knights liberated this devil in hopes that she'd be so thankful for their help that she'd do everything for them. However, it seems that these Knights were composed of the trolls with the smallest IQ, because even I know that devils don't thank you. They control you and enslave you. And that's exactly what the Snow Queen did. She turned these rebellious trolls into huge, ice knights, and made them do everything for her. In little time, they'd built her an ice castle and basically did everything that she ordered them to do. And while they did that, the Snow Queen was transferring her essence from her body to an ice mirror she was working on —an ice mirror that would let her control anybody who looked into it. Her plan was to elevate the mirror to the sky, more specifically to the sun, so that the rays would shine down on the entire world and delude them into obeying her. She finished the mirror, and even made the trolls create a huge ladder for her to climb up to the sun. However, someone forgot to tell this Snow Queen that the closer you get to the sun, the faster ice melts. So as she was about to reach the sun, the ladder began to melt and so she fell. She managed to grab hold of herself with one of the unmelted bars, but upon doing so, she lost control of the mirror, and once it crashed against the ground, it exploded into millions of pieces —pieces that landed in the eyes and hearts of many people around the world. These people became slaves of the queen, who controlled them by boosting up their greed and selfishness. The king who wants to attack you sorta has a piece of that ice mirror in his eye, and so..."

"He's being controlled by the Snow Queen to attack us," Elsa gravely concluded. She tried to keep a calm, composed stand, but she couldn't help but feel that the problem at hand had gotten ten times more difficult. Fighting a human was much easier than doing so with a devil.

"Before you ask, your Majesty, how I come in, let me finish," Hans continued, and Else couldn't notice a slight change in his demeanour —much more pleading rather than pedantic. "A piece of this glass landed on a little peasant boy's eye, too. The Snow Queen, for some reason, lured this kid into her palace and tried to control him. He, however, was controlled by greed, and realised that the queen's ice kingdom was one to envy. Remember, your Majesty, that I mentioned the queen had used her essence to create this mirror?"

Elsa nodded.

Hans leaned closer toward her direction. "Once the mirror shattered, she became weaker than before. And she could've died... but she found a way to survive. This kid found out how she did it, and could destroy her. He then tried to fight the queen, but she was too strong, and he lost. He's now locked up in the palace. If we save him, though, we can destroy this devil and remove the hold she has on all those people, including the king. And I know how we can find and free this peasant kid to do just that."

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><p><strong>Note:<strong> Woah! This chapter is really long; almost 2000 words. It's also sorta uneventful, and I apologise about both, but BUT in my defense, I wanted to finish with the backstory in this chapter so we could focus on the adventure in the following.

Thanks for the support from last chapter! I hope you guys keep reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Anna was usually one to like big details, but her time with Kristoff had made her appreciate the small jewels in her life. One of them, and perhaps the most enjoyable, was spending the afternoons with her fiancée. They would head out to the yard closest to the plaza, where the busy yet pleasant buzz of chatter from the shoppers would distantly adorn their surroundings. The couple would first walk around the yard, with Sven tagging along behind them, as they inspected the flourishing garden as if it were the first time they laid their eyes on it. They'd then proceed to seat under a tree while Kristoff tuned his guitar, and Anna blabbered on and on… and on.

This time, it was different. Instead of talking out loud, Anna was having mental arguments with herself about a matter she wished she could just forget.

"Something is wrong," Kristoff murmured, his lips pursed in a pensive manner as he gazed at Anna from his lazy position by the tree trunk. "You can tell me."

"Hmm." Anna's eyes involuntarily trailed over to the palace, where she inspected a dome-shaped, tall window that faced the throne room. Inside, Hans and Elsa were probably reaching an agreement on how things would play out from then on.

_You're now marrying a stranger you picked up in the forest, _Hans' words echoed in her mind.

"My fiancée –who usually speaks too much –does not want to talk to me," Kristoff sang, brushing his guitar strings now and then to add a melody to his improvised song. Anna saw him smile, but she couldn't really reply in the same manner. Not with all the worries clouding her composure.

"Kristoff, do you think we should postpone the wedding?" she suddenly asked, the familiar glint of curiosity in her eyes completely replaced by a glaze of worry. She instantly regretted even bringing up the subject, though, as soon as she heard Kristoff choke in his own saliva. "I mean," she quickly tried to clarify, "how are we planning on having time to plan a wedding for the end of this year when Elsa and Prince Hans will be trying to stop a war?"

"Is it because of what Hans told you?" Kristoff asked, sitting up straighter. He did not look mad. His furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes indicated confusion and perhaps a slight feeling of insecurity.

Anna always had a response for every question, statement, and comment; but not this time.

"Are you… not over him?" Kristoff slowly drawled out, as if he were afraid of what kind of answer his inquiry might bring.

Anna automatically perked up, quick to deny his assumptions by saying, "Of course not! I would never trade you for him, not in a million of years!"

"Then why are you suddenly asking to postpone the wedding?" he asked, scooting over to his fiancée. "Is it something I did?"

"No," came out Anna's crackling whisper. She heaved a sigh, turning her gaze to the clasped fingers on her lap as she shook her head.

There was a brief silence. Everything seemed so familiar and cheerful. The usual birds living in the garden sang to the melody of a song Elsa enjoyed screaming to while she bathed. The usual laughter of the maids' children was heard, as well as their feet running around the yard a few meters away.

Nothing indicated towards the possibility of a war waiting just around the corner, or that an introduction to Kristoff and Anna's first serious problem was taking place.

"You know I'm not the kind to pry," Kristoff continued. "But we're getting married soon, shouldn't you be confiding your worries to me? I don't want you to carry burdens about us all by yourself."

_Remember how Hans also pretended to put your worries first? He then slowly began to take control of situations, still pretending it was for your best, as well as for your sister's... but it wasn't, _a voice told Anna. She quickly shook away those thoughts, and decided to focus on the problem at hand.

"I am confiding in you… I am telling you I don't want to marry so soon," Anna desperately explained, not able to look at Kristoff in the eyes. She heard him take a breath before beginning to word out a response, but was interrupted by one of the guards calling for them.

"Your Majesty would like you two to come in," he informed them, bowing as the two of them silently made their way into the throne room.

"Kristoff, I know there are little things we agree on, but I'm sure we'll be on the same side for this," Hans spoke as soon as he heard the couple step foot on the room.

"Why would I ever agree to something you say?" Kristoff asked, stuffing his guitar in a bag Anna had attempted to sew for him (which ended up looking more like a pink, old potato sack).

"Because you care for people's safety and you know that sending a magic snow man to take care of us on our trip will not be of any use!" Hans exclaimed, his eyes glued to a frowning Elsa, even though his words were addressed to Kristoff.

Elsa shook her head. "Olaf is-"

"You want to bring Olaf along?" both Anna and Kristoff exclaimed in unison.

Upon hearing his voice, Anna was tempted to glance at him, only to meet his own flickering glance.

"Yes, she wants to waste our only space for a guard on that… thing," Hans harrumphed, scowling at the queen.

"Olaf has been trained in every kind of martial art. The royal military has awarded him many honors and even named him chief," Elsa insisted, her eyes wide with urgency. "We couldn't be in better hands!"

"Oh, please. You just light a match by him and he _melts_," Hans pointed out in a defiant manner.

"And I can piece him up together once again, which makes it even more beneficial! If he's attacked or something happens to him, I just have to use my magic and he'll be good as new. We wouldn't be risking any lives other than our own!" Elsa exclaimed, moving her hands along to her words.

"Well, I don't want to risk _my life_," Hans countered, knitting his brows together. He dismissively pointed at Anna and Kristoff. "And I'm sure they don't want to risk yours."

"We'd be in risk even with an army looking over us," Elsa informed the prince, quite matter-of-factly.

_Is this how I look when I want to convince people of doing stupid stuff? _Anna wondered. _Wide, urgent eyes? Check. Exaggerated hand gestures? Check. Fast, desperate breathing? Check. _She was about to speak up against the idea, but her fiancée beat her to it.

"Queen Elsa… I… I think Hans is right this time," Kristoff stammered out, not daring to look at the prince's triumphant, wide grin. "Olaf has no experience in the actual field. This could put you in risk."

_Hans then slowly began to take control of situations, still pretending it was for your best, as well as for your sister's... but it wasn't, _the voice echoed in Anna's mind.

A defeated sigh escaped from Elsa's lips. "But-"

"But you're the queen and if you wants to take Olaf, you can take Olaf!" Anna cut in, crossing her arms across her chest, feeling a slight sense of shock wash over her. She did not know what had gotten over her, she just knew it had to do with Kristoff and his own view on the problem.

"Anna… are you sure?" Kristoff gently asked, and she felt him directly look at her for the first time during the meeting.

"Yes," Anna mumbled, not returning his gaze.

"This girl is dumber than what I remember her as," Hans muttered, throwing his hands up in the air in an exasperated manner.

"Hey, you don't speak of royalty that way," Kristoff warned, glaring at the prince.

"I'm royalty too, you idiot; unlike you! You're just some stranger whose only relevance comes from Anna. For all we know, you might be planning to steal po-"

"_Hans!_" Elsa sternly cut in, her eyes wide with shock and anger.

Anna could feel Kristoff tense up next to her. If this had happened a while before, she would've instantly jumped to his defense. But she couldn't help but wonder if he tensed up because Hans was right.

"I'm going to my room, I'm not feeling well," Anna mumbled, before dragging her feet towards the spiraling staircase leading to her bedroom.

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><p><strong>AN: **I took some time to update, I know, and I'm sorry! I've just had some tasks to finish before actually being able to invest some time in the story. Once again, sorry!


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